The Flower Girl
by Sakurai101
Summary: Sakura is an 18 year-old girl with a past that is shrouded in darkness. She knows there's something more to her story than what she's been told and is determined to figure it out. Strange things begin to occur in Yomi-no-kuni as Sakura gets closer to the answers she's wanted all her life. Darkness envelops her and she begins to question whether those answers were worth the trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**_Flower Girl- a young girl who precedes a bride, carrying or scattering flowers._**

* * *

 _Standing before the elders in the pure white open temple decorated with masterful architect and granite, Mebuki stood resilient against those who opposed her and her child. She wore a pristine white dress that hung loose against her body but fit her frame so well, reaching her ankles. She blended in with her surroundings wearing an equally piercing white cloak that lay secure on her shoulders as the aggravated winds whipped it around her shoulders. Her short blonde hair was parted to the side while the rest of her mane was slicked back staying in place with ease. She held her babe close, securing the cloth under her resting child's chin, ensuring that she stayed warm in the cool environment. The small baby in Mebuki's arms grinned sleepily as she clenched onto her mother's chest. Mebuki stared silently at the elders, waiting for them to reprimand her._

 _The elders sat behind a raise slab of stone so that they were staring down at her. They all shared the same monotonous yet stern expression as they stared at the woman below them. Mebuki could clearly see the judgement and disdain for her but she wasn't bothered by it. They could all burn in hell for all she cared._

 _One of the elders, the only female known only as Koharu Utatane, moved her old yet steady and lithe hand and gestured to the baby in Mebuki's arms._

 _"You're child is a danger to us all, Mebuki. We must send her to Yomi-no-kuni. There we will be safe from the danger the child can put us in." The old woman said in a calculating tone. Mebuki held her baby tighter._

 _"She's just a babe- no more than a few months. She needs her mother." Mebuki replied. Though her face didn't show it, she began to become nervous as her heart picked up speed. Chills went down her spine though it wasn't from the cold of the high winds whipping around them._

 _"Were you not aware of the consequences that would occur when you became promiscuous." Koharu chided calmly. Mebuki bit the inside of her cheek to keep from making a snide remark. "Your foolish actions have brought you to where you are now. A child without her father and a mother without her child." Those words stung Mebuki for a moment before the depth of Koharu's words sunk in. They were really going to take her precious child and that alone made her heart beat erratically. The mother tried to reason with them._

 _"She doesn't understand what she is yet. And I can teach her. Why condemn her before she's even had a chance to live?" Mebuki voice was strong not betraying how she truly felt inside. **Scared**._

 _"As stated before, your actions have brought upon these consequences." Homura Mitokado spoke now, his voice strong, resounding._

 _"But-" Mebuki tried again to reason with them, taking a step forward._

 _"There is no reason to argue. Give us the child, Mebuki. It is better this way." Danzo Shimura glared at Mebuki with his single brown eye causing her to take a step back. His voice was cold and calloused as the winds seemed to pick up as he spoke. It was silent now, save for the winds whistling in their ears._

 _Mebuki fought with herself. She knew that this was her fault to begin with. If she had just stayed away then this would have never happened. She looked down at her daughter. Her baby's beautiful sea green eyes stared back at her quietly. Her pink tuft of hair laid tussled under the swaddling cloth covering her head. Her small pink lips wrapped around her left finger and the right of her hand clenching onto the material of Mebuki's gown. But had she stayed away, she would have never had such precious proof of her love for that man. She would never and could never regret that faithful night that she lay with him and produced this child of hers. She refused to stand by and passively let them take her daughter. With resolve, Mebuki stared at the elders with defiance in her forest green eyes causing them to glare back at her, expecting her defiance._

 _"...no.."_

 _"Take her." Homura said swiftly with a raise of his hand._

 _Suddenly three men with masks sporting grey armor and black underclothes, appeared in a cloud of gave her no chance to run as two of the men grabbed Mebuki by the arms causing her to struggle against them while the third one took the baby from her arms. The babe began to wail at having been taken from her mother's arms as the man walked towards the raised rectangular slab._

 _"Unhand me! Give me my child!" Mebuki watched as the elders made their way down to the ground from their high perch."No! You can't take her!" Mebuki screamed as she continued to struggle against the two men._

 _"You've brought this upon yourself. Remember that." Danzo chastised as the masked man handed the baby to Koharu._

 _"No! Please! Don't do this!" Mebuki felt pure dread fall into the pit of her stomach as she realized her baby was really being taken from her. She kicked her feet up and tried pulling away even more from her human restraints as she watched her baby in the arms of the old woman._

 _"This is for our safety, Mebuki. You'll understand one day." Homura called out to the desperate mother over the wailing as they turned their backs to her._

 _"Sakura!" Mebuki shrilled. "My baby! SAKURA!"_

* * *

"Sakura, we've been through this. It's just a dream." Ino said as she applied her make up in the mirror of her best friend's vanity.

"No..it's not. It felt so real!" Sakura paced back and forth in her room, her long pink hair flowing behind her in the small breeze she made with her body as she looked down at the carpeted floor frustrated. "Like it actually happened."

"It's probably just your subconscious playing tricks on you, Sakura." Ino tried to reason as she applied a layer of mascara on her lashes. "I mean, everyone dreams and I believe that sometimes dreams start to feel real but the more you dwell on things the more it takes hold of you and manifests itself... _especially_ in dreams."

"So you're saying I should give up." Sakura stopped her pacing and crossed her arms as she faced Ino, furrowing her brow. She wasn't asking.

Ino paused in her application of red lipstick and stared at Sakura in the mirror.

"No I'm saying you've been looking for years and you're no closer to finding the answers that you want than when you first started asking questions." Ino finished applying the lipstick with a hint of irritation. She leaned back, puckering her lips as she stood up to face her equally irritated best friend. "If you want to waste you're life looking for something you're never gonna find then that's on you but I'd rather spend my time with people who I know exist and care about me. Maybe that's something you should dwell on too." Ino walked passed her with Sakura following her with her gaze and picked up her heeled boots. She sat down on Sakura's bed and slipped her petite feet into them, zipping up the sides.

"Ino I really do appreciate what you're trying to say but this more than just a fixation..." Sakura turned away from her and took her place at the vanity where Ino had just been. She rested her elbows on the surface and used her one hand to prop her head up and the other to tap on the surface with her manicured hands in irritation.

"You're right it's an obsession." Ino stood and grabbed her leather jacket from the back of the chair Sakura sat in before turning back around. Sakura spun around into a standing position, offended, and neared her best friend as the blonde turned to face her as she slipped her pale arms through the sleeves of the jacket.

"Ino this about my identity, who I am, where I come from." Sakura expressed with hand on her chest.

"Sakura I know who you are and you know who you are too." Ino placed her hands on Sakura's shoulder. " You have more important things to worry about like...the party that's going on tonight for example." Ino said cheekily.

"I'm not going to any party tonight. I have _important_ things to do like figure out who I really am." Sakura brushed Ino off and picked up some stacks of paper on the floor that held potential information that could help her in her quest. She walked out of her bedroom and into the living room where her desk sat against a far wall and placed the papers neatly on the desk. Ino whined behind her.

"Come on, there's literally nothing here that you can't put off until tomorrow." Ino raised her hands and dropped them carelessly at her side. "You don't have any leads, or _any_ information for that matter, other than what that old geezer told when you were a child at the orphanage." Sakura made the effort to pass by Ino, mentally disregarding her words, when the blond stopped her by her wrist. "Go be 18 for once. Please..."

Sakura stared at her friend's pleading baby blue eyes and against her better judgement said:

"Fine..fine we'll go to the party."

"Yes!" Ino jumped excitedly as she released Sakura.

Sakura grabbed her jacket and opened the front door of her apartment, letting Ino step out first. They made their way out into the street, prepared to walked the few blocks to the venue of the party.

"Where is it anyway?" Sakura asked as she busied herself with notifications on her phone.

"At Kiba's house."

"Kiba's?" Sakura looked at Ino with a cocked brow of confusion. "Yeah he definitely didn't tell me anything."

"Uh no actually he did. You were just too preoccupied with _something_ to hear him." Ino stated matter-of-factly. Sakura remained silent, pushing her phone back into her pocket.

Within moments, the two girls made it to the outside of Kiba's apartment where they saw people mingling outside and heard loud music reverberating through the building. Sakura was about to walk in when Ino stopped her.

"Sakura let's just have a lot of fun tonight, okay? Forget about you're needless obsession. You're boyfriend is here, there's lots of people, lots of music, lots of fun. That's what you need." Sakura nodded.

"Okay I hear you." She replied taking in consideration Ino's words.

"Alright, now let's get wasted." Ino hollered. The blonde pulled the pinkette along, with excitement in her bones.

The music was much much louder in Kiba's spacious living room. It was dark but multicolored strobe lights illuminated the open space. It smelled of sex, alcohol, and drugs as the two girls watched as people who weren't completely in their right mind danced around sensually. Ino having spotted her longtime boyfriend, Shikamaru, grabbed drinks from a passing party-goer and handed one cup to Sakura, ignoring the profanity that came from the other person's mouth as they walked back to retrieve more drinks.

"Here take this and go bat shit crazy. I have a little dancing date with my man." Ino yelled over the music so Sakura could hear her. Ino shuffled over to Shikamaru, leaving Sakura to her own devices.

Sakura sipped from her cup as she shimmied between couples, across the room over to the staircase. She sat high enough that could see pretty much everyone in the room. Surveying the drunkenness of them all as she sipped on her own beverage, her eyes scanning the crowd, not looking for anyone in particular, not even for her boyfriend. Her body bounced with the music as she felt the affects of the alcohol slowly taking control of her body. She felt the vibration of the music, making her feel relaxed. She closed her eyes and swayed over to the music for a moment. She opened her eyes and some how her orbs landed on black.

All the way across the room near the bar were black eyes staring at her intently. The connection of their eyes seemed like an accident, like it just happened that they both stared at each other at the same time without thinking but Sakura had this feeling that she was being stared at for a while by those eyes. They were so familiar but the pinkette couldn't imagine where she'd seen them before. Sakura scanned the owner of those piercing obsidian eyes. He seem extremely pale even though it was hard to tell his true complexion in the poorly lit room. His jawline was chiseled and hard against his slim face that was framed by his dark gravity-defying hair while his lips were now pressed into a thin line. His face was partially hidden by the cup that had now hidden his lips behind it. Sakura used her eyes to looked as his hands and up his muscular arm that hid under his tight black shirt. Though she couldn't see details due to the lighting and the amount of people between them, she could tell that he was built, like he had some type of special training. Sakura moved her sea green eyes back up to his face. He was still staring at her. She knew him but she really couldn't place from where. His name was on the tip of her tongue but it just wouldn't empty itself from her mouth. While Sakura's mind tried to recover the name, she almost felt naked under his gaze, like he was slowly undressing her with his eyes. An electric shock ran down her spine. She couldn't tear eyes away.

Thank fully Kiba helped her do it. The tall young man blocked her view of the mysterious obsidian-eyed man from causing her to look up. Kiba gave a toothy grin as he kissed her on the forehead and helped her stand. He lead her all the way up the stairs to his room. He let Sakura in first before entering and closing the door behind him. Sakura turned around to face him. He took one long stride, closing the space between them.

"I missed you." He whispered in her ear.

"I'm pretty sure you saw me yesterday." Sakura wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling him towards her as she looked over his shoulder at the closed door where the other man she had been staring at was just beyond the threshold and down the stairs. Sakura ignored the thought of the mysterious person when Kiba pulled back and placed his hands on his girlfriend's hips with a frown.

"Actually I saw you last week. You know when I was telling you about the party but you were too busy obsessing over your stupid family thing." He rolled his eyes.

"Stupid? Really?" Sakura unwrapped herself from Kiba instantly. "I knew I shouldn't have come." Sakura forcefully handed her cup to Kiba, making the contents splash around and brushed passed him towards the door. Kiba inwardly cursed at himself for his choice of words as he place the cup down on his end table next to his bed and grabbed Sakura by the arm, stopping her.

"No wait... I didn't mean it. I just mean that I miss spending time with you is all." Kiba pulled Sakura closer to him but she looked away with obvious hurt." And I know how much it means to you, I just wish that it didn't cut into our relationship sometimes ,you know."

Sakura looked at her Kiba in understanding and sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to neglect you. I just...it's really important to me." Sakura played with the collar of Kiba's shirt, finding it more interesting for the moment.

"I know, I know. You don't have to explain that to me." Kiba reassured as he ran his hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"I'll try harder, okay? As long as you forgive me for neglecting you." Sakura promised as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"hmm..mm-mm." Kiba sounded as he raised his head so he was looking down his nose at her.

"Please?" Sakura gave a puppy dog face, dropping her chin to her chest and looking up at him.

"mmm...only if you make it up to me."

"I think I know how.." Sakura smiled with coy as she snaked her arms back around his neck and nestled closer to him.

"Oh yeah?" Kiba, picking up on the invitation, lifted Sakura's legs around himself and walked over to the bed. He laid her down, his hands on either side of her head, smirking down her.

"Yeah." Sakura pulled Kiba down by his shirt, both ignoring the fact that there was a party still in session just beyond the bedroom door.

* * *

"Good morning." Kiba crawled into bed beside is sleepy lover, admiring how the sun shining through his window doused her in its golden rays. He kissed her shoulder then made his way to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses. He began to suck on her soft skin, teasing her just a bit with his hand by lightly skimming her naked body, from her chest and down passed her naval towards her womanhood. Sakura turned over so that her front was now pressed against Kiba's and he took that as an opportunity to grab her rear and pull her as close as possible.

"mm." Sakura sounded contently as she nuzzled the skin of his neck with her nose.

"I made you breakfast." Kiba murmured in her ear as he skimmed her back against his fingers.

"mm thank you." Sakura raised her leg on top of his, intertwining their legs together. They stayed like that for a moment before Kiba kissed her lips and exited the bed again to get dressed. Sakura sat up slowly and reached for the tray of food on the end table that had been prepared for her. She started with the butter covered bread, taking a significant bite out of it. A flash of the mysterious onyx-eyed man she saw from last night came to her mind. She glanced at Kiba. Maybe he would know who she was thinking about.

"I was thinking.." Sakura started. "Well I saw this guy at the party last light and I think I know who he is. I just can't remember his name."

"Why, are you losing interest in me?" Kiba joked as he slipped on some sweatpants, the muscles in his back rippling from his movements.

"Of course not. You'll always be my one and only. But I just can't remember his name. It's on the tip of my tongue." Sakura said, the last part more to herself than him. Sakura finished her piece of bread before starting on her eggs.

"Describe him." Kiba indulged of her, turning part of his body towards her.

"Okay well, he's tall. Uh skinny but has quite a bit of muscle on him." Sakura took a fork full of eggs.

"That's pretty vague. At this point you could be talking about any guy in the city." Kiba chuckled. Sakura tried again after sipping on her orange juice.

"Alright well he has really dark eyes, pretty much black actually. He has pale skin and his hair kind of looks like a chicken's ass-"

"Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha?" Kiba questioned, catching on to the person his girlfriend was describing. " How can you forget him?"

"I didn't forget him." Sakura defended. "I just forgot his name. I know who he is at least." Sakura took another fork full of eggs.

"Yeah but forgetting his name is like forgetting to breathe, it just doesn't happen. His whole family runs this place." Kiba explained.

Then it dawned on Sakura. "The Uchihas are in charge of the police department for the entire city right?"

"Yeah..." Kiba, already seeing where this was going, answered suspiciously.

"Maybe he can help me find my parents." Sakura murmured to herself but Kiba still heard her.

"Sakura seriously. You said this wouldn't cut into our relationship." Kiba lightly chided, reminding her of the promise she had made the night before.

"And it won't. I promise. I just think that he'll be a good asset in helping me put this entire thing to rest." Sakura raised her hands defensively as she chewed on the food from her plate.

"Oh yeah?" Kiba crawled back onto the bed and removed the tray from Sakura's lap causing her to stare at him with a quirked brow.

"Yeah.." She said, swallowing what was in her mouth.

"Why don't I put you to rest." Kiba smirked as he pounced on her.

"Ah!" Sakura giggled as she wrapped herself around Kiba as he began kissing her neck eliciting a moan from her lips.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the couple, a figure on the rooftop cloaked in black watched for a few moments before jumping from their perch into an alleyway and disappearing into the shadows.

" _He_ 's coming."


	2. Chapter 2

After staying at Kiba's house all day post-party, Sakura gathered her things and kissed her lover goodbye. He stood in the doorway, waving down to her from the steps to her wearing only sweatpants unbothered by the chill of night against his toned bared skin.

"Good luck tomorrow with Examination Day." Kiba encouraged. "Half the precinct is gonna be there. You'll probably see Sasuke, too."

"Thanks. I'll watch out for him." As she stood on the sidewalk, smiling up at him.

Sakura forgot that it was in fact Examination Day for the hospital tomorrow. That meant Sakura was going to have a full day with Tsunade, doing physicals for a large group of people. It was required for every department of the police precinct of Yomi-no-kuni to get physicals done every six months or so, so they sent in different departments during designated times so as not to overwhelm the hospital; those days being marked as Examination Day. Since Kiba was part of the K-9 Unit, they already had the pleasure of getting their physicals done so Sakura wouldn't have the privilege of seeing him tomorrow. It was the Tactical Force's turn to be examined and according to Kiba, Sasuke would most likely be there. That was Sakura's chance to ask for help and learn more about who she was. Sakura made mental note to scan for Sasuke during Examination Day.

Sakura blew Kiba a kiss goodbye before walking away down the few blocks to her house. The streets were alive with people and cars during the mid hour of the night, even more so than in the day time. Cars zooming by and honking, people riding bikes with bells, and groups of people laughing over a couple drinks could be heard in the crisp air. Even children could be seen playing around on the sidewalks.

Sakura embraced the liveliness of the outside, subconsciously, as she bunched hands in her jacket. She looked over into a shop with its neon signs blaring at her as she passed. Just beyond the window, Sakura could see a couple eating pastries with their child who looked to be no more than 8 years old as they sat at the window table in front of her. Sakura stopped in her movements. They smiled and laughed as they ate happily together. Sakura's heart wrenched suddenly at the sight. She wished that could be her. She had no one. No parents she could claim as her own. No one she could go home to every day and share everything with.

The child, noticing Sakura standing in front of them, waved to her enthusiastically. Sakura waved back with a sad smile before continuing on back to her apartment. Within five minutes, Sakura was rounding the corner to her apartment building and running up the stairs into the warmth of the lobby. Sakura took the stairs up to the top floor, not bothering to wait for the elevator.

The silver orb that was the moon pooled it's radiant light through Sakura's window, illuminating her living room in a soft glow. Sakura unlocked her door, slowly stepping inside. She sighed, kicking the door closed behind her and locking it. It felt so empty, so devoid of life. She didn't bother to turn on the light, preferring to bask in the light of the sliver moon. Sakura slipped off her jacket, throwing it on the counter with her keys and made her way to the grey leather couch of her living room. Dropping herself on to her back, she stared at the moon through the window.

It was so calm. It had no cares, nothing to worry about. It held no pretenses. The moon decided when it wanted to glow and when it didn't. It lived the life it wanted. But could Sakura say the same about her own life? This wasn't the life she would've wanted for herself or anyone else. She was without parents. She had no origins to speak of other than the orphanage she partially grew up in. Sakura felt she had no place to run to. She felt like her life was a facade, hiding behind meaningless smiles and believable yet false happiness.

Sakura rolled on to her side and adjusted the purple throw pillow under her head. She looked over at the shelves of pictures across from her, settling her eyes on a picture of her with a blonde, honey-eyed woman. Tsunade. She was like her mother for the past 12 years but it still wasn't quite the same for Sakura. There was still a hole in her heart where Sakura longed for her real family to be. She had to find her family regardless of what everyone else had to say. She deserved the truth, even if her parents turned out to be dead.

 _"Aaah!" Sakura furrowed her brows at the noise. She listened intently for a moment. Not hearing anything more, Sakura deduced it to being her imagination._

 _"Uggghh! Get OUT!" Sakura shot up from her position on the couch, looking around her. She heard a splashing of water and the squeaking of the tub coming from her bedroom door which cause the pinkette to be even more confused. Staring at the wooden barrier, Sakura slowly stood to her feet. She began to hear more grunts of pain coming from her closed room as her hand neared the door handle. Sakura slowly opened the door._

 _What she saw was not her magenta walls with a four poster queen-sized bed covered in gray bedding in the middle of white carpet flooring. The walls were now white with the floor covered in white ceramic tiles. There was a tub sitting under a large window that held an agonized woman inside. She had short blonde hair that was drenched in what could have been water or sweat maybe even a mixture of the two. Her face was red and clammy. She was leaning against the back of the tub holding her swollen belly with her knees bent as she breathed heavily, panting. The only light came from the moon that shown especially bright, bright enough that Sakura could see clearly. The woman before her was the same from her dream a couple nights ago, the woman who Sakura could only assume was her mother...hopefully._

 _The woman threw her head back in pain as she gripped the sides of the tub tight enough to turn her knuckles pasty white. She groaned as she looked back down at her belly._

 _"Please! Please come out of me!" The blonde begged. She inhaled deeply before scrunching her eyes closed and pushing with all her might. All Sakura could do was stare in shock at the scene before her. Sakura somehow how couldn't make sense of it all. The room that was supposed to be her bedroom was now a bathroom holding a woman going through the birthing process. It was all unreal and yet it felt like this was reality for the pinkette. She was at a loss of what do._ _Sakura subconsciously made a move to step forward towards the woman, still watching the soon to be mother, but found that she was stuck in place. Her body wouldn't budge as the woman screamed for the baby to exit her body._ _A few more pushes later, another voice was heard._

 _"Mebuki?" Sakura heard a male voice call out from behind her causing said woman to turn her head with a hint of relief flashing through her eyes. Sakura recognized the name the masculine voice called, having heard the same name once again from her previous dreams. Sakura tried to turn around but again her body forbade her._

 _The Mebuki groaned and scrunched up her face again in an effort to push before grunting in a strangled manner. In a quick motion, she reach in front her with wide eyes. Sakura heard a splash of water and then a wailing before seeing a tiny baby in the woman's hands. The new mother smiled and exhaled a sigh in relief as she stared at the flailing baby. Mebuki held the child close to her as she cupped some water from the tub, into her left hand and dribble it down the baby's pink hair. Sakura unmistakably recognized it to be herself, widening her eyes at her infant self. Suddenly the man, who had called out to the woman before appeared in front of Sakura. He knelt down next to mother and child, reaching a hand out to the babe. His hair was an odd color that Sakura couldn't quite make out and his face was cloudy, making it impossible for her to identify him._

 _"My daughter.." The man said in what sounded like amazement. Sakura felt tears forming at the back of her eyes at the feeling of desperation that was tugging at her heart. Oh how she wished she could see exactly who the man was, claiming to be her father._

 _"Our baby. Our love. Our Sakura." The woman said._

 _"Sakura.." The man repeated._

 _"Sakura..." A voice that didn't belong to either of the couple whispered. Sakura stumbled forward, the force restricting her releasing its hold on her. Suddenly the floor opened up beneath her just as she was about to step closer towards the couple, ignoring the voice that had called her just seconds ago. Screams erupted from her mouth._

 _"No! Wait!" Sakura called out to no one in particular as she tried to reach for the hole that only got further and further away as she fell deeper into the blackness._

 _"SAKURA!"_

* * *

Sakura jolted awake with a startled gasp, throwing herself forward on the couch. The new day had begun as the light of the sun shone brightly in Sakura's living room. Sakura was panting with beads of sweat lined at her forehead and her clothes stuck to her body like a second skin. She looked around herself, realizing that she wasn't falling through a hole in the floor anymore. She took in a deep breath of air before letting it go in relief however she was still left with a feeling of apprehension from the, for the most part, harmless dream. She swung her legs down on to the wood floor as she ran a hand down her face. Once again Sakura had a dream that felt just as real as the one prior and she just couldn't shake the feeling that she was somehow these dreams were the key to getting closer to the information she wanted.

Sakura's phone went off in her jacket pocket, causing the pinkette to flinch at the unexpected trill of her ringtone. The pinkette got up and walked slowly to the counter where she left her article of clothing, still riddled with exhaustion. Taking the phone out and seeing that it was Ino, she answered the call and put her speaker, leaving the phone on the counter. Sakura leaned over the phone cover her eyes with her hand as she waited for Ino to speak.

"Sakura! It's about time you answer your damn phone! Where the hell are you!" Ino questioned in a hushed manner.

"At home, why?" Sakura answered, her voice not betraying how tired she actually was.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? The hospital is packed because of Examination Day and no one knows what to do because Tsunade is no where to be found, Shizune is on vacation, and you, second in command when Shizune's not here, aren't even at work yet!" Ino yelled into the phone in obvious frustration. Sakura winced at the device relaying Ino's voice to her. She leaned away from the phone.

"You're really loud, Ino and beside I'm pretty sure my shift doesn't start for another hour." Sakura replied.

"Sakura it's 10:08 in the morning. Your shift started _three_ hours ago..." Sakura stared at the clock across the room on the wall. The clock indeed have its short hand on the 10 and the long hand a little after the 5. With a rush of energy, Sakura ran towards her room, calling out to Ino on the phone.

"Oh my gosh! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sakura slammed the door shut behind her.

"You better hurry! I don't how much longer people are going to wait!" Not hearing a reply, Ino looked at her phone. "Hello? Sakura? Hello!" Ino kept calling out, not realizing that a patient had closed up behind her.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to wait, Yamanaka-san?" A smooth baritone voice asked. Startled, Ino turned around as she slid her phone into her pocket, not hanging up. A tall, fair skinned man with black eyes stood before Ino with his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Behind him stood two men who looked to be the same height as him. One had spiky hair that defied gravity and a more porcelain skin complexion while the other had short, unruly hair with equal skin tone to man in front. They wore black flak jackets with grey shirts underneath and black pants with black combat boots, their standard weapons absent from their persons.

"Oh Itachi-sama." Ino bowed. "I'm not exactly sure. Tsunade is unavailable at the moment and we're waiting for her assistant."

"Tch. Unprofessional." Ino looked at the man behind Itachi that had spoken and frowned, crossing her arms.

"Oh come on, little cousin. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all this." The unruly haired man reasoned with a grin as he slung his arms around his shoulders.

"By all means, Sasuke, why don't you take the reigns and get things underway." Ino challenged.

"I believe my little brother has enough of his own shortcomings to worry about, Ino." Itachi stated casually, ignoring the glare that Sasuke directed at his older brother. Sasuke turned around, shrugging his cousin's arm off his shoulders as he shoved his hands in his pockets before walking away. Itachi glance at his cousin from over his shoulder. "Shisui, if you don't mind..."

"Yeah, I got it." The said man replied as he tailed after Sasuke. "Hey grumpy wait up!" Shisui called out to his younger cousin.

"Pardon him." Itachi apologized. "I'll try to make things more manageable with police force while we wait." he reassured.

"Oh! Thank you, Itachi-sama. Again I apologize for the wait" Ino reassured.

"No, thank you, Ms. Yamanaka. I know this one of the most stressful days for you and the hospital." Itachi said simply with a gentle smile as he turned away, his ponytail swaying behind him. Ino waved at his retreating back before turning around to speak into her phone.

"Sakura you better hurry up or else I'm kicking your ass into next week." Ino hung up the phone and exhaled before charging down the hall

* * *

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe this. I'm so-" Sakura burst into the lobby of the hospital an hour later red faced from the cold nipping at her skin on her way to work.

Too focused on the fact that she was so unacceptably late for work, the green-eyed woman didn't even realize that she had bumped right into someone on her way in. Ino, seeing her best friend rushing in, finished her conversation with an orderly before running over to Sakura.

"Late! You are so unbelievably freaking late." Ino chastised as she pulled Sakura by the wrist. "You have 150 patients that need to be examined by night's end and I have no idea how you're going to do it but you had better start thinking of something now."

"I know, I know!" Sakura replied struggling to keep up with Ino's fast pace.

Ino ducked and weaved around patients and staff alike, not slowing down for anyone. Making it to the west wing of the hospital, Ino stopped in front of the two double doors with a plaque above that said "Examination Day".

Facing Sakura, Ino stood in waiting. After taking a minute to catch her breath, the pinkette stared at the blonde confused.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Hello! Examination Day! I don't know why that's not sticking in your head! What are we gonna do?" Ino said in a hurry.

"Oh, right!" Ino looked at Sakura quizzically. "Uh...I need as many staff, who are cleared to perform exams, as possible...what?" Sakura asked, noticing the blonde's stare.

"Are you okay?" Not really sure how to answer, Sakura shrugged her shoulders hesitantly. "You just seem a bit off."

"I'm fine...it's just a rough morning for me. We'll talk about it afterwards.." Sakura dismissed the conversation before Ino could ask anything more.

Sakura handed Ino her belongings and fixed her white coat on her body without another word. She rubbed her hands together, mentally preparing herself. This was going to be an even longer day than she anticipated. She turned towards the double doors, pushing them open. 150 policemen halted their conversations at the opening of the doors, staring at the pink-haired assistant. Over in the corner, an orderly wearing teal scrubs with short red hair that was pulled into two low pigtails, stood flirting with Shisui. Ino glared at the girl, pointing.

"Hey you! Didn't I tell you to get lost like an hour ago?" The girl looked embarrassed as she tucked her head down. "Get lost! There are patients in need your attention...that _aren't_ in here." The girl quickly shuffled towards the door without another peep from her mouth, handing the clipboard in her hand to Sakura as both women watched her retreating back.

Ino shook her head as she patted Sakura's shoulder, leaving the girl to perform the task the pinkette asked of her. Sakura stared at her patients as they stared back with stoic expressions.

They all shared similar physical traits; dark hair, even darker eyes, intimidating persona. A chill ran down Sakura's spine feeling the somewhat tense atmosphere. Sakura cleared her throat in preparation to speak.

"Before we get started, I'd like to apologize for the unanticipated delay. I can assure you something like this will not happen again." Sakura explained in a professional tone. Not receiving any feedback from the group in front of her, Sakura continued on. "Why don't we get right into things, shall we?" Sakura look down at the clipboard the orderly had given her. "Shisui?"

Shisui raised his hand, walking towards Sakura with a large grin and a glint in his eye. The pinkette identified him as the one who was flirting with the female orderly just minutes before. Sakura stood much shorter than him, her head reaching his shoulders. She smiled at him before gesturing to a door to the right of her that lead to a private exam room.

"This way." Opening the door and letting Shisui in first, Sakura made her way over to the sink to wash her hands. She called behind her. "You can remove your flak jacket and your shirt."

"Oh, that's how you want to do this?" Shisui said with a chuckle, the rustle of his clothing signifying that he was complying with Sakura's order.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean.." Sakura said as she dried her hands and walked over to the opposite wall. She took the sphygmomanometer off its hook and wrapped the stethoscope around her shoulders. Shisui smirked at Sakura as she stood in front of him.

"Most women ask for my number first before asking me to get naked." Sakura snickered finding his comment laughable. As if she'd want anything to do with him.

"Your right arm, please." Sakura requested, choosing to ignore him.

Doing as Sakura asked, Shisui extended his requested arm so she could wrap the sphygmomanometer around it. She placed the ear pieces of the stethoscope in her ear and placed the chest-piece on his artery. She pumped the bulb, periodically stopping to listen to his blood flow. Gathering Shisui's blood pressure in her head, Sakura removed the chest-piece and the sphygmomanometer from his arm and rested the earpieces of the stethoscope around her neck. Sakura placed the sphygmomanometer back on the wall. Picking up the clipboard, the assistant wrote down his blood pressure. Sakura proceeded to perform all the required procedures of the physical and recorded information before collecting the clipboard to sit across the from Shisui on a medical stool.

"Have you noticed anything abnormal in your body lately?" Sakura asked, beginning to ask standards questions of the exam.

"Well my heart sped up when I first laid eyes on you. Does that count?" Shisui winked flirtatiously.

Sakura eyed the dark-haired boy wearily. "I'll take that as a no." Sakura wrote on the clipboard again. Shisui grinned.

"Are you sexually active?"

"Why, you wanna take me for a spin?"

Sakura scribbled on the clipboard again, once again ignoring his inappropriate comment. "When was the last time you had sex?"

"5 minutes ago..in my head..with you.."

Sakura stood up, slamming the board down on the counter. A vessel poked out her forehead in irritation at the man in front of her. "I believe you're due for a shot, Mr. Uchiha."

"Last I checked I was up to date." Shisui stated, unbothered. "Unless you're giving me a shot of aphrodisiac to expedite the love making process between us."

"First of all..I have a boyfriend. Second of all, your charts say you need a shot."

Knowing that she was lying about the last part, Sakura opened one of the cabinets that had been stocked with syringes and medication. Picking up a small bottle of magnesium, Sakura filled a syringe with the liquid and turned around.

"That's never stopped anyone before." Shisui replied slyly, referring to the first part of Sakura's comment.

"Could you stand and pull your pants down with your rear facing me, please?" Sakura asked as she actively tried to restrain herself from man-handling the Uchiha in front of her. Shisui did as he was told.

"Ooh, I like women that are kinky."

Shisui didn't expect the sharp sting of the needle to hurt as much as it did. He shot back up, holding his behind.

"There, you're all set." Sakura smiled, not betraying her devious action, when he turned to look at her quizzically.

Shisui pulled his pants back up and reached for his shirt, slightly uncomfortable with the pain now in his rear. Sakura disposed of the syringe as she smirked to herself. As soon as Shisui pulled his shirt down, he felt a strange feeling that made him pause. Sakura glanced at the black-haired boy from the corner of her eyes, at his stilled countenance. She inwardly laughed as his expression changed from confused to mortified but kept her own face blank. Shisui clenched his butt.

"I need a bathroom!" He yelled hopping from one foot to another.

"There's one down the hall you can use." Sakura offered, acting as if she didn't know of his current situation.

Shisui ran out of the room, slamming the door open. Just as he was exiting the double doors, Ino was coming in with a group of doctors ready to perform physical examinations on behalf of the pink haired assistant. She jumped out of the way, looking at him like he was crazy. The blonde looked at the doctors and policemen who looked just as confused before looking at Sakura who stood in the doorway of the private room staring back and feigning innocence. Ino instructed the doctors of what to do before walking over to her best friend.

"What happened?" Ino questioned as she looked at where Shisui had exited in a hurry.

"I may have shot him up with 200mg of magnesium..." Sakura answered casually.

"What!" Ino stared at Sakura with a look of incredulity. "You do realize that's half of the daily recommended allowance in one sitting, right? Plus whatever's in his system now."

"Of course I do. He's not gonna die...he'll be all right." Sakura replied. She shrugged her shoulders carelessly, looking at Ino.

"Sakura...you poisoned him." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I didn't _poison_ him, I just disrupted his bowel movements..a little."

"A little? He's gonna be sitting in the bathroom for days." Sakura walked in front of the policemen again, ignoring Ino.

"So...who's next?"


	3. Chapter 3

The clock had just struck 11 o'clock at night as Sasuke Uchiha sat behind his work desk, flipping through some files under the light of the lamp. He sifted through papers and made markings with his pen here and there. The spacious room belonging to the Tactical Force was quiet save for the occasional set of footsteps and the rustling of paperwork along with the creaking of desk chairs from other employees every now and then. The floor was pretty much empty accept for a few stray over-nighters walking around doing busy work. Sasuke had finished up his examination hours ago and had decided to catch up on some work though he had clearance to depart home for the rest of the evening. Normally this wouldn't be a problem considering the young Uchiha always spent a good amount of time after office hours, however he wasn't in the ideal state of mind for any type of work at the moment. He wasn't focused enough.

He supposed he was just having "one of those days" but at the moment he was just feeling really off. Honestly, Sasuke hadn't quite felt like himself since the night of the party when he saw Kiba's pink haired lover. He had this strange nagging feeling behind him that he just couldn't shake. At first he just thought it was the booze playing tricks on his body but when he saw her again today during examinations the feeling hit him fool force. The young Uchiha wasn't usually one to read into things but this didn't quite feel like a coincidence to him. It was kind of unsettling.

Sasuke closed the file before him and tossed it to the side in irritation. As he leaned back into his chair, he crossed his leg over the other and thumbed his chin.

Sasuke stood up from his chair and turned off the lamp, forgoing his futile attempt at tackling some work. He walked to the elevator, pressing the down button and entering as soon as the doors opened for him.

Sasuke didn't even know the girl or anything about her for that matter, other than the fact that she was Kiba's long time girlfriend. She was scarcely seen, never coming to friendly outings and never showing up in the precinct like many of the employees's significant others did. Her name even escaped him when he knew he had heard it a number of times from Kiba and even today when she appeared as the head doctor for Examination day. She was almost like a ghost, only appearing when she wanted to be seen.

Sasuke watched as the numbers descended and listened as the ding sounded every time the numerals changed. The elevator opened on the lobby floor, revealing Kiba and his ninken Akamaru.

"Sup, Sasuke!" Kiba greeted. Akamaru barked in greeting as well.

"Hn." Sasuke stepped out of the elevator with his hands stuffed into his pocket as he walked past the Inuzuka not paying much mind to him.

Kiba held his hands on the elevator doors to keep it from closing as he called after at the retreating Uchiha. "Hey did Sakura talk to you today?" Sasuke stopped and glanced over his shoulder at Kiba.

 _'Sakura...that's her name...'_ Sasuke made mental note, matching it with the pink haired doctor.

"What?" Sasuke turned around fully to face Kiba, quirking an eyebrow at the Inuzuka with his curiosity peaked.

"Okay...I guess not.."

* * *

Sakura stood over the counter in the exam room, flipping through some charts on her clipboard. She jotted some notes down, not noticing the figure entering the room until he cleared his throat. Sakura jumped a little, startled at the sound. She faced the man with her hand on her chest and the other gripping the edge of the counter.

"Oh, wow! You scared me!" Sakura breathed. "I didn't know there were more patients left."

"It's just me. Everyone has been serviced adequately." Itachi explained with a gentle smile.

Sakura relaxed and motioned to the exam bed laid with fresh table paper. "Please, it's late. I don't want to keep you any longer, Mr..."

"Just Itachi is fine." he replied.

Itachi sat on the bed. He removed his flak vest and his shirt and laid them next to his person. He waited patiently as Sakura washed her hands and gloved them before grabbing the necessary tools needed to perform his exam. Sakura monitored his breathing and his blood pressure, checked his reflexes and made sure he was up to date with his shots, and asked the standard medical questions required of her.

Deeming that he was all set, Sakura put everything away as Itachi redressed himself before leading him out of the Examination Day room. Itachi waited as the pinkette locked the door. Placing her set of keys within the confines of her pocket, Sakura walked beside Itachi with only the sound of other patients and nurses filling the space of the hallway. Everyone from Examination Day had already departed towards their own agendas and the hospital's day of extreme hustle and bustle had long since died down now that it was late into the night.

"May I ask what happened to my cousin?" Itachi questioned suddenly. Sakura looked up at Itachi with slight confusion. Itachi clarified as he stepped out of a patient's way. "Shisui."

"Ah..he was due for a shot and I suppose he had a less than favorable response to it. No need to worry though, these things happen all the time." Sakura explained partially telling the truth. Itachi stopped walking causing Sakura to stop as well in curiosity, standing on the other side of the hall to let a few nurses wheel by with a patient bed. He chuckled.

"Ms. Senju, if I wasn't the captain of my department, I would believe you wholeheartedly." Itachi stared in amusement at Sakura. "However, as such, I make it my responsibility to know my subordinates' personal records like the back of my hand."

Sakura smiled to herself. Of course she would be talking to the captain of the very man she admitted into the hospital just hours ago by a mere shot. She actually found this to be a laughable moment.

"Shisui was already up to date with his shots, there was no need for him to receive one today." Itachi continued. "Which leads me to believe that he did something very unfavorable towards you."

Though caught off-guard by the statement, Sakura recovered quickly. "Wow.. you catch on fast, captain. That makes me a little bit worried." Sakura said jokingly.

"Let's just say I spend a lot of my time getting Shisui out of trouble rather than keeping him from it." Itachi shook his head. Sakura laughed in response. "You don't have to explain anything to me but as captain I have to ask whether or not he is well.

Sakura waved her hand dismissively as she continued to walk towards the lobby, prompting Itachi to follow after her. "He'll be just fine. He'll be dehydrated and experience some discomfort in his stomach but that's all. He's in good hands I promise."

They made it to the lobby and Sakura walked Itachi towards the sliding doors, both stopping just short of them so as not to alert the sensor and bring in the cold from the outside. Itachi faced the pinkette abruptly and bowed with grace towards her. Sakura smiled lightly at his politeness.

"Thank you for your efforts during Examination Day. The Uchiha Police Precinct are forever in the hospital's debt. I'd also like to apologize on behalf of Shisui. I hope that he will not be a bother for you again."

"Please Itachi-san, there's no need for all that. It's okay, really." Sakura assured him with a soft placement of her hand on his shoulder. Itachi fixed his posture.

"To make up for Shisui, if you ever need anything, I'm happy to help. Just come by the precinct whenever." Itachi offered. He nodded his head towards her in a silent goodbye and turned towards the doors once again.

Suddenly it dawned on Sakura. In all the busyness of the day, Sakura had completely forgotten about Sasuke. She was supposed to keep an eye out for him to ask for his help in finding her family. Sakura mentally smacked herself. How could she forget something so important!

But wait...

Sakura looked at Itachi's retreating back. A captain from within the police precinct just offered to help her with anything. All she had to do was ask! Sakura ran after Itachi as he disappeared from her view.

"Itachi-san! Wait!" Sakura felt the cool air of night grace her skin. It was much colder than it had been earlier in the morning.

The pinkette looked in the direction that she saw Itachi walk towards but didn't see him. It was almost like he disappeared into thin air. Sakura sighed in slight disappointment. She just missed him.

"Damn..." Sakura pulled her doctor's coat together hoping it would block her from the cold but it did nothing. She turned around, not expecting to see the tall Uchiha standing there. She stumbled back in shock. "Oh! I thought I'd just missed you!"

"I heard you calling for me. Is everything okay?" Itachi replied. Sakura nodded as she steadied her quickened heartbeat.

"There actually is something you can help me with."

* * *

Sakura and Itachi walked up the steps of the police precinct. Sakura recognized it to be the largest building in the city. She had to crane her neck just to get a good look at it from where she was standing and even then she still couldn't see the top of it from the angle she was at. Itachi held the door open for her. As she walked through, he followed in behind her. Sakura noted that the floor of the lobby held the signature red and white uchiwa fan in the middle of a black shuriken with a dot in each corner. It was the same symbol on the back of all the flak jackets of the Uchiha patients today. The security guard at the tall desk smiled at them and nodded her head as they walked by. Sakura did the same while Itachi kept on walking.

Itachi reached the elevator first, pressing the up button. They waited patiently.

"You know this could have waited until the morning. You don't have to trouble yourself with this now." Sakura tried to reason, sort of feeling bad that Itachi had to deal with this after such a long day for both of them.

"It's no trouble at all. I had to come back here anyway" Itachi stated. The elevator dinged as it opened to let its passengers on. The ponytailed captain pressed the button for the seventh floor and watched the numbers change.

Sakura looked at the floor of the elevator until it stopped and opened it's doors.

Itachi walked off first, entering the large and spacious room filled with desks covered in paperwork and files. A few officers were walking around the floor and some were sitting at their desks bent over they're own work. The only light source came from the few lamps that were actually lit on some of the desks and the large moon peeking over some of the buildings in the city and through the large glass windows.

With Sakura walking closely behind, Itachi walked up the stairs that led to the balcony holding his office. Itachi opened the door, letting Sakura in first. The pinkette wasn't sure what she was supposed to expect walking into Itachi's private office but it certainly wasn't her boyfriend and the man she recognized to be Sasuke Uchiha behind the desk with the computer screen illuminated.

Sasuke and Kiba looked up from the computer screen that was bright enough that they could clearly see the two people entering the office. Kiba stood behind Sasuke with his arms crossed, with a look showing that he was just as caught off guard as she was while Sasuke sat behind the computer staring at his older brother.

"Kiba.."

"Sakura!"

"Sasuke."

"..Itachi."

Itachi and Sasuke stared at each other evenly. Kiba walked over to Sakura, who had an equally confused look on her face, and pecked her lips as he rubbed her arms. "Sakura...what are you doing here?" Kiba asked a little hesitant.

"Uh..Itachi. He said he would help me find my parents. Since I forgot to ask..." Sakura trailed off as she looked at the Sasuke, who paid her no mind.

"Oh..that's what me and Sasuke are doing. I figured you forgot so I thought I'd help you out." Kiba explained as he gestured for her to take a seat in front of the desk. He sat down next to her, holding her hand.

Itachi withdrew from the staring contest he held with his brother and closed the door behind him, not bothering to turn on the light in his office. He walked behind Sasuke, who glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and looked over his shoulder. He scanned the information in front of him associated with the doctor now seated at his desk as Sasuke leaned back in the executive chair, before turning the screen enough that all four of them could see.

"You're a blank slate, Ms. Senju." Itachi said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sakura replied dejectedly.

Itachi sighed and leaned against the desk, his back facing her, while Sakura looked over the information she already knew.

"There are no records of your birth parents. Nor is there a birth record to even reference from in the system. All we know about you is the orphanage you grew up in, onward."

"How is that even possible?" Kiba asked. "I mean everyone has birth records in Yomi-no-kuni."

"Everyone except her.." Itachi stated. "It's almost like you don't exist, Ms. Senju."

This was information that wasn't new to Sakura, so this didn't come as much of a surprise to her. However, the fact that none of her birth records were available for them to scour new information from, was. Sakura almost felt hopeless, like she was never going to find that piece of herself that was missing for so long. She just wanted to find her family- figure out who she was.

Did you speak to the director of the orphanage about your origins?" Itachi asked. He thumbed his chin in thought while she answered.

"Yes. It was years ago, though. He didn't tell me much, just that the people who dropped me off weren't my parents." Everyone pondered the statement. "I tried to pry more information out of him but he kept brushing me off and even threatened to call the police for causing a disturbance." Sakura added.

"Seems a bit much for just a little bit of information." Sasuke said, his tenor voice ringing in Sakura's ears.

Sakura looked at the man she saw a couple nights ago. A chill ran down her spine as she looked at him. His arms were crossed against his chest, his muscles flexing under his gray long-sleeved shirt. He stared at the wall behind the computer, contemplating something. His lips were pressed into a hard line. His black bangs framed his mature jaw. His eyes shifted towards her causing her eyes to cast down onto her hand intertwined in Kiba's, not before feeling a shock of electricity run through her body. What was that? Sakura hadn't even looked into his eyes for even a second and she felt a spark. It sounded so cliche. Sakura instinctively squeezed her hand in Kiba's to bring her out of her momentary daze, earning her a squeeze in return. Sakura told herself not to think about it.

Itachi stood upright and faced Sakura causing her to look up at him.

"Strange indeed." Itachi glanced at the screen for a moment, rereading Sakura's file. "Maybe we should pay another visit to the orphanage; they'll be less likely to call the police if we're already there.

"Do you happen to have any other information you think will help, Sakura?" Kiba asked.

Sakura thought about it for a moment. The memory of the dream she had came her. The only problem now was that it was fuzzy. She couldn't clearly remember the figures she had so vividly seen just the night before. Sakura sighed and shook her head in disappointment. She felt like she hit a dead end.

"Well if it's not too much trouble, can you come back in few hours?" Itachi asked as he looked at the time on the clock above Kiba and Sakura's heads, showing that it was now 1 in the morning. "We can go to the orphanage together and see what information we can gather."

Kiba looked at Sakura as if she had two heads. "Uh, Sakura? Don't you think you're gonna be busy tomorrow?" he said as if he was trying to hint at something. Sakura waved her hand dismissively, releasing her hold from Kiba.

"I can just ask Ino to cover my shift. It's no big deal." Sakura explained. "Besides, there's nothing important happening anyway."

Sakura missed the hurt that flashed across Kiba's face. The Inuzuka man rose from his chair abruptly causing the other three persons in the room to stare at him questioningly.

"Kiba?" Sakura asked as she looked up at her lover. Kiba ignored her and made his way to the door.

"I'm tired. I'm gonna head out." Kiba opened the door and slammed it behind him leaving the trio to stare at the door in mild confusion and slightly awkward silence.

"It's getting late. We should leave too." Sasuke said as he closed out of Sakura's files and shut down Itachi's computer, leaving them in darkness.

Itachi made it to the door first, opening it to let the pinkette out first and then his younger brother. Kiba was nowhere in sight and the other officers that were working had taken off already. The older Uchiha closed the door behind him and locked the door before looking at Sakura.

"Come to the precinct whenever you're ready and we'll head out to the orphanage." Itachi instructed. Sakura nodded.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this." Sakura bowed to both men with her hands clasped in front of her before making her way towards the elevator.

Sasuke watched with his brother as the doctor stepped onto the elevator and disappeared behind the doors, beginning her descent.

"That girl is strange.." Sasuke mumbled under his breath but Itachi caught it.

"How so, little brother?"

"Nothing.."


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura arrived at the Uchiha Police Precinct as planned, early in the morning. She stood outside Itachi's office waiting patiently as she leaned against the railing of the balcony, trying to get a hold of Kiba for the um-teenth time that morning. The call kept going to voicemail and Sakura didn't have the patience to keep leaving messages every single time.

 _"I'm sorry the number you have dialed is unavailable. Plea-"_

Sakura ended the call again just as Itachi opened his office door. He smiled at the pinkette just as she slipped her phone back in her pocket.

"Sasuke will be meeting us at the orphanage so we can leave right away. I assume Kiba is doing the same?" Itachi inquired as he closed the door behind him.

Sakura shrugged sheepishly. "I've been calling him but he's not answering the phone."

Itachi nodded. "Well he knows where to find us."

The pair made their way out of the building towards Itachi's car. The raven-haired Uchiha started up the engine and made his way out of the parking lot. Sakura watched peacefully as the various buildings flew past her and the music from the radio filled the cabin.

Sakura hoped this time the director would be more forth-coming with information in the presence of police officers. All she wanted was information, anything that could help her get closer to where she wanted to be. Sakura chewed on her lip. This trip could go either way; it could be a bust or it could be everything she needed it to be. There was no telling how it could go. Sakura's stomach became knotted at the thought. She was really crossing her fingers on this.

Itachi glanced at his passenger, seeing that she was clearly distracted. He cleared his throat to catch her attention. "Something troubling you?"

Sakura looked at him and chuckled lightly. "I was just thinking this could go either way." Sakura propped her elbow on the armrest. "Who's to say, I'll walk away with what I need."

Itachi stayed silent for a moment pondering her statement. "You're thinking of the worst." He said, finding the deeper meaning of the statement.

Itachi took the pinkette's sigh as confirmation. He nodded. "Being involved with the precinct as long as I have, I've learned that just because useful information hasn't been found doesn't necessarily mean you've been set back."

Sakura looked at Itachi, not sure she understood the meaning of what he said. Itachi offered more.

"Let's say I'm solving a case and the clues I already have lead me to a suspect. I learn the suspect is of no use to me but I haven't lost what I've already learned. All I need to do is see where _else_ the clues can lead me." Itachi explained. Sakura was beginning to catch on. "Just because you only see one path to take doesn't mean that's the only one there is."

Sakura never thought of it that way. Somehow she convinced herself into believing the orphanage was her only guide to finding out everything she wanted to know but she never explored her other options-not that she even knew what they were. Sakura felt slightly better thanks to the advice that Itachi offered her.

"Thank you." She replied contently.

The pair continued on in silence. When they finally reached the orphanage, they saw Sasuke leaning against his own car with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Itachi parked next to his younger brother and both passengers exited the vehicle.

Sakura looked at the place she spent a part of her life in. A good amount had changed from what she could remember. The mansion-like dwelling was fenced in by tall black metal rods with pointed tips and had a neatly trimmed lawn with a stone path leading from the parking lot entry to the brooding steps of the orphanage. The well watered green grass somehow made the mansion itself much darker in essence. The lawn was dotted with more trees than were in Sakura's time there and stone benches sat rooted to the ground. The barely functioning playground that Sakura remembered was no longer there, as if it never existed to begin with. The old stained-glass windows that used to dot the walls of the brick building were replaced by crystal clear ones. Even the once tattered shingles on the roof were seemingly new. It was obvious the building had come under some major renovations.

Sasuke stood upright and slid his hands into his pockets as Itachi came to stand next to him. "Took you long enough."

"You wouldn't have had to wait if came with us but you insisted on taking separate cars, little brother." Itachi smiled innocently. Sasuke ignored him.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Sasuke began walking towards the stone path and Sakura and Itachi followed suit.

The tall mahogany doors of the orphanage were filled with intricate little carvings of children playing which was quite endearing. Sasuke pushed open the doors just enough for the trio to be greeted by the sound of children's laughter and the pitter-patter of feet running this way and that. Sasuke held the door open for Sakura and Itachi to pass through. Sakura walked to the front desk where a round woman who looked to be in her mid-40's with neat brunette hair sat in front of a computer. As Sakura neared, the woman looked over her round bifocals at her and smiled, raising her head.

"Good Morning!" The secretary beamed. "Are you the go-between for these prospective parents?

Sakura quirked an eyebrow in confusion. Go-between? Prospective parents? Sakura turned to look at the two men behind her. Itachi smiled genuinely amused with his arm around his brother's shoulders and Sasuke humphed and turned his head away in annoyance. Sakura had to hold back a giggle behind her hand.

Itachi cleared up the confusion and had the trio back on track to seeing the director within minutes.

* * *

"Is there a reason why you're here?" The black-cloaked person questioned, not bothering to look at the woman behind them.

"You do realize that following her around does neither of you even the slightest bit of good." The wind blew, ruffling their hair. "I don't understand why you're so apprehensive anyway. There's nothing to hold you back."

"I'm aware." The cloaked person replied sharply. "Why are you here?"

"Well I am father's eldest after all. Of course he's going to entrust me with all the tasks that he can't do himself."

"I didn't realize this was such a bothersome _task_ for him." The woman laughed and waved her hand carelessly in response to the cloaked person.

"Don't take it so personal. Father has his own agenda that even I am not attuned to." The cloaked person took note of that. "He'll reveal himself eventually, but in the mean time, you're welcome to watch the show he's prepared for us all."

"You're all more trouble than you're worth."

"But that didn't stop you, did it?" The young woman quipped. She was met with silence. "He misses you...and I'm sure you feel the same."

The cloaked person jumped off the branch they were sitting on without a word and disappeared into the leaves below. The woman remained rooted in her spot, looking at Sakura for a moment more.

"Oh dear girl. You've no idea what's in store for you." The woman smiled deviously and disappeared just before Sakura looked in her direction.

* * *

Sakura snapped her head up to look out the window she sat in front of. She could've sworn she felt someone staring at her but it couldn't have been possible. There was no way anyone could get so high up in the trees, right?

"Saw a squirrel?" Itachi asked, noticing her movements.

"I'm not sure.." Sakura moved side to side trying to see if she could get different angles of the outside in her view. She brushed shoulders with Sasuke causing her to look at him and him glance at her from the corner of his eye. The pinkette felt chills in her stomach and quickly moved away from him. "Sorry."

Sasuke said nothing. They sat outside the director's office on a leather bench waiting for the director to show up. Half an hour had already passed since they'd been sitting there and they had yet to see him. Itachi and Sasuke sat perfectly still but Sakura hadn't been able to stop fidgeting since they sat down. Numerous times Itachi had to lay a placating hand on the girl's shoulder only for her to start back up again. Sakura sighed. She really had no idea why she was so nervous. It wasn't like she hadn't already done this before but this time felt so much different from a couple years ago. She really didn't want to walk away empty handed.

 _"Just because you only see one path to take doesn't mean that's the only one there is."_ Itachi's word rang in her mind. He was right, she just had to believe that this wasn't necessarily a dead end for her.

Footsteps sounded down the hall and Sakura instinctively looked to see who they belonged to. Immediately she recognized the man walking in their direction to be director that she knew very well. He was flipping through papers attached to his clipboard and writing things down here and there. Sakura stood up. The director stopped in front of his door glancing at another sheet of paper before looking up at her curiously. His face quickly turned from curiosity to recognition then exasperation. He opened his office door, leaving it open for her and her two other companions to follow after him.

"I should've expected you to come back. I've told you before, Ms. Senju, I have nothing to offer you and if you plan on causing a disturbance, I won't hesitate to involve the police. Bringing friends won't change my mind." The man placed his clipboard on his desk and removed his leather jacket from his person and settled it on the back of his chair.

"Even if her friends are police officers?" Itachi said sedately.

The director sighed as he sat down and clasped his hands together. "I have nothing more to say to you. Just give up your futile search and go home. Be content with the life that you have already and don't ruin it for yourself."

"Mr. Ishida, please. You can't even describe them to me? Tell me where they're from. We may live in a large city but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to narrow them down." Sakura pleaded.

"I've told you everything already. I'm not going to argue with you so please...do us both a favor and leave. I have no time to waste on you." Mr. Ishida said firmly.

"You can't even spare a desperate girl what little information you have?" Sasuke inquired with his hands bunched in his pockets and his stance relaxed. "It's not like you have client confidentiality if you can at least tell her that her parents weren't the ones to bring her here."

Mr. Ishida hitched his breath at the younger Uchiha's comment. "Look, I shouldn't have told you that. It was a moment of weakness in my judgement from _her_ incessant prodding." He defended.

"Then you shouldn't have any problems giving a little more of a lead here. Unless you want to be _prodded_ again." Sasuke said mockingly.

"What my brother means is it won't hurt to provide Ms. Senju with the information she needs. Especially in the presence of elite officers." Itachi added.

Mister Ishida rubbed his forehead in irritation. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep her from saying anything that might cause him to change his mind. The trio watched in silence as the director clearly battled with himself about sharing the information he held. It was moments before he finally opened his mouth.

"It was a group of people. There were at least 6 of them." Mr. Ishida finally said. Sakura pressed her hands on the desk.

"What else? What did they look like?" Sakura asked almost excited.

"Three of the members...seemed to be much older in age and stature than their other companions. The others looked like bodyguards of some sort. They wore these strange masks."

"Did they say where they were from?" Itachi asked.

"Yes but… I can't say." Mr. Ishida turned his head away.

"Why not? Please! You have to give me more."

"I've already said too much." Mr. Ishida said resolutely as he stood up and faced the tall window behind him.

"All you did was give us a quantity and vague description. I'd hardly call that saying much." Sasuke squinted at the older man.

Mr. Ishida said nothing in reply and continued looking out the window to the view of the expansive backyard of the mansion that held a new playground for the children. The sound of the children screaming jovialy and running around could be heard aside from the ticking of the grandfather clock near the door. Sakura pressed on.

"Mr. Ishida, I just want to find my family. If these people know anything about where I came from then they can help me-"

"Just stop it!" Mr. Ishida said ruefully. "Why is it so hard for you to understand Ms. Senju. They threw you away like trash. If they wanted you to know who you are don't you think I would've told you already long before now."

" Well Mr. Ishida, you seem to know so much about her so why don't you tell her who she is?" Sasuke challenged.

Mr. Ishida noticeably stiffened in his spot in front of the window.

"What did they tell you?" Itachi questioned suspiciously.

Mr. Ishida evaded the question. "I don't have the power to help you in the way that you want. There really is nothing more I can say to you, Ms. Senju."

Sakura inched closer to the desk. "You can't just say something like that and stop. You have to give me more than just that...please!"

"Ms. Senju-"

"Please!"

Sakura was met with silence. She sighed and turned away from the director's back. They could see the obvious bout of disappointment settling in her posture, as her eyes settled on the floor rug that covered the wood under her feet. She hadn't noticed the director turning around or the sound of his gasp at the sight of the Uchiha brothers' red eyes.

Within seconds, things had taken a dramatic turn.

Suddenly Mr. Ishida began gasping for air as a slit formed on his throat out of thin air. Sakura instinctively turned at the sound and the three of them stood in shock at the site before them. Within seconds, Mr. Ishida was on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Sakura had run to his side, her medical instincts kicking in.

Sakura used his hand to place pressure on his wound in a useless effort to staunch the flow of blood. Itachi was already calling for an ambulance. Sasuke stood closely behind Sakura for god measure.

"Why would you do something so foolish!" Sakura watch as the blood continued to gush out between both their hands and soak the carpet and their clothes.

"I-I-I'm so-rry.." Mr. Ishida choked out.

"Shh. Don't talk!" Sakura looked to Itachi. "When are they coming?

"He won't make it, Sakura. You know that." Sasuke answered before Itachi could. "It's a miracle he's still breathing."

"Sasuke.." Itachi chided with a grimace. Sakura looked at Sasuke. She felt a foreboding sense of uselessness as her face began to show signs of panic at the sight of his calm features.

Mr. Ishida reached a bloodied right hand up to Sakura's face, bringing her attention back to him.

"K-Ko-n-no-ha..."

Sakura gripped his right with hers. "What is that? Tell me!" The pinkette felt Mr. Ishida's hand begin to fall limp in her own but she tightened her grip.

"Mr. Ishida, please! Stay with me!" Her plea fell on deaf ears as she watched the light in his eyes fade. "Mr. Ishida!"

Sasuke and Itachi couldn't help but feel bad for the young woman at the sound of desperation in her voice. Sakura refused to stop calling on the dead man, even after Sasuke gripped her by the forearms and wrestled her away from the lifeless director. He wrapped his toned arms around her, standing firm against her thrashing.

Within the hour, Sakura's energy had been depleted from her struggle against the stoic Uchiha. Her body was tired and her voice was hoarse. She watched from the back of an ambulance as the paramedics carried the body away from the building to another ambulance. She didn't even register the presence of a paramedic wrapping a blanket around her. If it was wasn't for Sasuke's baritone voice bringing her to her senses, she wouldn't have noticed the slightly older woman in front of her.

Sakura looked up at the thin woman. She looked at Sasuke who offered nothing, then back at her again. The woman placed soothing hands on her shoulders, rubbing them lovingly.

"Sakura, look at you! I'm so sorry!"

The woman had straight jet black hair that reached to the end of her back. Her almond eyes on her heart shaped face were a sweet honey color, filled with emotion. Her olive skin being lighted by the early evening sun.

No, this was certainly not the outcome Sakura was expecting at all.

"This is not the circumstance I expected to meet again under." The woman said softly asked she tucked a loose hair behind Sakura's ear.

Sakura grabbed the woman's hand, holding it in her lap. "I'm sorry..but do I know you?"

"Oh yes! I'm sorry." The woman smiled gently and patted Sakura's hand holding hers. "I look much different than you remember."

The woman cleared her throat and ruffed up her hair a bit. Her demeanor changed to a brooding that beat even Sasuke's and she suddenly had bags under eyes. Her voice sounded monotonous when she spoke.

"Remember me now, kid..it's Kaoru."

Sasuke and Sakura sweat dropped. "Heh, yeah..I remember now."


End file.
